Crea%ve Pedagogies
Across the Child and Youth Care Undergraduate Program
Elise Cassidy, Supervised by: Jin-‐Sun Yoon
University of Victoria, School of Child and Youth Care
March 8, 2017
Acknowledgments
:
This research was supported by the Jamie
Cassels Undergraduate Research Award
Introduc2on
:
•
Abstract
The School of Child and Youth Care (SCYC) is currently undergoing a process of renewing the undergraduate curriculum in order to be
increasingly responsive to mul%ple, complex contexts
within the 21st century (SCYC, 2015). Within the dynamic contexts of
contemporary prac%ce, the important role of crea%vity is increasingly being recognized. Crea%ve and innova%ve pedagogies— which may include, for example, arts-‐based, wellness-‐based, metaphorical, narra%ve, embodied, imagina%ve, flexible, or choice-‐based student engagement— are a
considera%on in the reconceptualiza%on of the SCYC’s curriculum. As a fourth year undergraduate child and youth care (CYC) student I have
experienced various crea%ve pedagogical approaches in the program. This has led me to wonder, what collec%ve knowings exist in the department about the use of crea%ve pedagogies, involving both teaching and
evalua%on prac%ces? Using qualita%ve, exploratory methods, a focus group will be u%lized to bring together instructors and faculty who draw upon
innova%ve pedagogical prac%ces in their distance and on-‐campus
classrooms to share their experiences and create a set of recommenda%ons for the SCYC’s Undergraduate Program Council. The research is intended to inform the renewed curriculum to op%mize responsiveness to diverse and dynamic contemporary contexts.
•
Objec2ves
1. To document how crea%ve and innova%ve pedagogies are being used within both distance and on-‐campus undergraduate CYC classrooms.
2. To create a set of recommenda%ons for the SCYC in order to inform the curriculum renewal process.
Methods:
The present research was a qualita%ve, exploratory study.
Sampling
The target popula%on for this research were instructors and faculty in the undergraduate CYC program who have experience u%lizing crea%ve and innova%ve pedagogies in their classrooms. A leZer of recruitment was sent to all undergraduate instructors and faculty via
a distribu%on list, and a sample was drawn through availability sampling. A total of seven instructors and faculty par%cipated.
Data Collec2on and Analysis
Two in-‐person focus groups using semi-‐structured interview
ques%ons were conducted. Responses were thema%cally analyzed.
Involving
students
Engaging students in the curriculum renewal process and
crea%ng ongoing conversa%ons between students and instructors about
classroom pedagogies and prac%ces.
Guiding
Sentence
“Preparing our students to work withchildren, youth, and families in changing
and evolving circumstances in an ethical and responsive
way.”
Professional
Leadership
Course
An intro course for all students that ini%ates building community
and introduces students to important
skills for their CYC degree.
Con2nuity &
Coordina2on
Planning needs to consider the program as a
whole, such as how courses speak to each
other and how to coordinate types of
assignments and ac%vi%es.
Flexible
Pathways
Courses can be created with pre-‐
wriZen learning outcomes, but the
pathways to achieving these outcomes can be le]
open for flexibility.
Process
Courses
Offering courses that u%lize crea%ve methods,
small group work, and reflexive prac%ces in
order to center deconstruc%on, integra%on, and process-‐
based learning. Then, providing opportuni%es
to follow-‐up on this learning.
Instructor
Training &
Mentorship
Including opportuni%es to share ideas, having pedagogy communi%es
and course leads outside of one’s “content” area, and co-‐
teaching.
Founda2onal
Knowledge
Cri%cally engaging with the theories that form
the founda%on of the program, and invi%ng
more innova%ve, diverse theories into
the curriculum.
Re-‐Design
Weekly
Expecta2ons
Reducing assigned readings in order to
promote and value classroom engagement,
including engagement with diverse mediums within class ac%vi%es.
Results: Recommenda2ons
Conclusion:
In this research, crea%ve pedagogies encompassed evalua%on methods, teaching methods, and classroom prac%ces. Instructors drew upon these methods to be responsive to students and global contexts, to facilitate the process of learning, and to enact social jus%ce. Instructors’ recommenda%ons intended to strengthen these approaches across a coordinated program. The research contributes to an understanding of some of the crea%vity occurring in CYC classrooms
and offers possibili%es to build upon these prac%ces moving forward.
References:
Pedagogy. (n.d.) In English Oxford living dic1onaries. Retrieved
From hZps://en.oxforddic%onaries.com/defini%on/pedagogy
School of Child and Youth Care. (2015, May 31). School of Child
and Youth Care curriculum proposal: dra= for discussion.
Unpublished manuscript, School of Child and Youth Care, University of Victoria, Victoria, Canada.
Tagxedo. (2017.) [Wordcloud].
Retrieved from www.tagxedo.com. Used under a CC BY-‐NC-‐SA 3.0 US license hZps://crea%ve
commons.org/licenses/
by-‐nc-‐sa/3.0/us/
Results:
Themes
Ped
a
go
gy
[noun] – “the method and prac%ce of teaching”
(pedagogy, n.d., “defini%on”)
Engagement
“Part of crea%ng that space for me, within the data analysis course, is making that course live beyond excel, beyond the computer screen.” “If you don’t engage with people on all of those fronts -‐
those most marginalized students who are entering an overtly colonial ins%tu%on-‐ we lose those students.”
Learning as a Process
• “I don’t think it can be iterated enough in our courses that the process of shi]s inside of yourself is something so profound, but it rarely is concentrated on in the work.”
• “Invest more in a progressive linked learning journey and learning process that is cumula%ve across courses.”
Rela2onship and Community
• “Having %mes for community building, you know, that actually really, really maZers. Not just a half hour at the end of term.”
• “There’s not only a rela%onal piece, but there’s also rela%onal accountability that happens between all of us in the classroom. I consider myself a learner as well.”
Social Jus2ce
• “That we can create a space where social jus%ce isn’t a word, but is a prac%ce.
And that ethic of being here is so deeply integrated into everything we do, rather than parceled out in an ethics class.”
Being Responsive
• “Contexts are completely changing and shi]ing, and we have to be able to respond pedagogically to those shi]s… we have to be responsive.”
• “One part of it was making sure that students really shared their skills, their interests, their strengths.”
